Nagoya is Japan’s fourth largest city and, while not a renowned tourist destination, offers visitors some interesting sights, fine restaurants and good shopping. Located midway between Tokyo and Osaka, Nagoya ranks among Japan’s top cities as a hub of economic activity and industry.

However, this does not mean that the city is a bleak industrial wasteland. One of Japan’s oldest and most important shrines is bang in the middle of the city, enclosed by 1,000-year-old evergreens. There is also the Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens, one of Asia’s largest zoos. Even the city’s main shopping area is lined with tree-lined boulevards.

While Nagoya doesn’t have the attractions of many of Japan’s other cities, it does have a castle built by the original Tokugawa Shogun, and one of Japan’s most significant Shinto shrines. There is also an aquarium renowned for its penguins and sea turtles, the world-famous Noritake chinaware display rooms and an open-air architectural museum. Nagoya is also the gateway to Takayama in the Japan Alps and Ise-Shima National Park.

Culture vultures needn’t worry that there may not be something to cater to their tastes, as the city boasts a variety of top-class art galleries and museums, including Samurai and art museums or day-trips to the historic town of Inuyama. For relaxation, Nagoya has some excellent parks, cherry tree gardens and landscaped greenery.

The main business and tourist districts offer accommodation for a variety of budgets, ranging from penthouse suites to communal rooms, with the Nagoya Station and Fushimi districts home to the largest number and diversity of hotels.

For those looking for entertainment, Nagoya offers a good variety of options be it culture, sports, theatre or nightlife. Baseball games and sumo tournaments lure sports fans, while those who want to shake a leg can find a number of bars with live music and a quirky club scene. There are also the obligatory karaoke bars and pachinko parlours, if you want to live it up like the locals do.

Nagoya hotels are scattered about the city, in the district south of Nagoya castle. There is a particular concentration of them in the east, along the rail lines. This offers easy access to the Nagoya’s excellent rail commuter network. The city has a decent selection of three, four and five star hotels mainly dating from the eighties, including names such as the Marriot, Hilton, Sofitel and Westin. The latter enjoys a privileged location on the lakeside near the Nagoya Castle.

Before the construction of Nagoya Castle, the place was known as Miya, meaning ‘shrine’ in Japanese. In the early 17th century, Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa ordered the construction of Nagoya Castle. This was done seemingly to secure a strategically vital post on the Tokaido and defend against any potential attacks on the new capital of Edo (present-day Tokyo) from the west.

A flourishing community developed around the castle. Traditional crafts congregated in different districts and together with the castle, the shrine, the port and different temples gave the city its patchwork layout.

Nagoya was developed as a modern city during the period of dramatic changes in Japan following the Meiji Restoration. In the first part of the 20th century, aircraft and military-related production became the focus of industry, which made the city a key target for aerial bombardment during WWII.

In the following decades, Nagoya became a foremost model of Japan’s phoenix-like rise from the ashes, establishing itself as a centre of high-technology in cars, aviation, machine tools, fine ceramics and robotics production, in addition to a leading manufacturing centre for Japan’s furniture and textile industries.

Without the cultural and historical appeal of other cities in Japan, few international visitors found their way to Nagoya, except for missionaries, students and industrial consultants until the late 1980s. This completely changed when the World Design Exposition was held in the city in 1989.

With the large arrival of international visitors trying to grab a slice of the Japanese bubble economy, a marked change occurred in the local people’s attitude, too. Well known for being conservative, the residents of Nagoya quickly revealed pragmatism, welcoming international visitors without discrimination, but expecting them to chip in to the community.

Today, Nagoya continues to maintain a distinctive rank among Japanese cities, being both an industrial powerhouse and a comparatively agreeable and open city. In March 2000, the opening of Nagoya Station, known locally as Meieki, a city in itself with shops, restaurants, hotels and observation decks in two shiny towers, brought the city its most practical landmark.

Nagoya enjoys a temperate climate, with hot summers and a fair amount of rain. The average annual temperature is 17.8°C and annual rainfall amounts to 1,605 millimetres. The city has four clearly marked seasons.

From April to October, Nagoya is typically hot. The temperature in August is often 30°C or more, with no breeze from the sea at night. From November through to March a distinct chill can be felt and temperatures regularly drop below 10°C.

The wettest periods are the rainy season, from June to early July and the typhoon season from September to early October. Autumn (September to November) is usually sunny and cool, while spring (March and April) heralds the cherry flower blooming season.

Heavy coats may sometimes be necessary in winter (December to February), although the temperature seldom drops below freezing.